Diaz hints UFC wants to 'weed me out again' with McGregor loss

Nate Diaz is looking to take over the UFC. He’s said as much in a recent interview on the Fight Pass series the Exchange. The former lightweight title challenger is set to rematch Conor McGregor on August 20th at UFC 202. It’s a fight he’s already won, with an emphatic submission victory at UFC 196. But, despite having put the notch in his belt, it sounds like Diaz has big plans for his place in the UFC after putting two straight on “the Notorious” McGregor.

As he put it, “they better hope I lose, because if I win this one, I’m really taking over.” And it’s that attitude toward the UFC and toward McGregor that seems to really be driving him (along with a lot of money) as he gears up for this second fight (transcript via MMAFighting):

"So when it first got booked I was like, ‘They want to get me right back in there and try to win this back and weed me out again,'“ Diaz said of the UFC 200 booking. “That's how it felt. I'm was like, ‘Can I just sit back for eight months and soak up some popularity and some exposure and just go on vacation and do what I gotta do?' And they were like, ‘We want this' and I'm like, ‘Why so quick? Whatever.' Then the deals got done and I was like, ‘Wow. That payday and this payday in that short amount of time, can't pass that up so let's do it. But I feel like these guys want to weed me right back out, hoping that I lose. Alright, they'd better hope I lose because if I win this one, I'm really taking over."

Nate also talked about his love of cycling, getting started in MMA, and his close relationship with his brother Nick, so check the whole thing out.

Diaz will face Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 202 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 20th. The event will be co-mained by a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Johnson and Glover Teixeira.